OED: "monkey's wedding"

[Charles C Doyle]

It's a proper time to revist the subject, but there was David Gold, "A Light Rain While the Sun Shines," _American Speech_ 56 (1981) 159-60.

--Charlie

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From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Alice Faber [faber at HASKINS.YALE.EDU]
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2012 10:02 AM

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On 12/2/12 8:34 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> My grandmother told me about "sunshowers" ca1952.
>
> I thought it was weird that it could rain while the sun was shining. IMO,
> sunshowers are very brief.
>
> I've read (but never heard) "The devil is beating his wife."  I've never
> seen an explanation of it.
>

"Sunshowers" is the term I was familiar with, growing up in the NY area
in the 50s/60s. When I moved to Texas for grad school, I was told about
"the devil is beating his wife" as a quintessential Texas expression,
although I don't think I ever heard it "in the wild".

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org